Comments like that consultant one put the reality of the relationship front and center, as an antidote to any romanticizing ( or transference ) the client might present. It offers an eye view of the relationship that is reductive and hurtful one one way ; if , though, you came in and said "hey T you are just a consultant basically and you are a dime a dozen", then he would switch teams and start arguing for the authenticity and care he offers. It goes back to some of the discussions we've all had about suspending disbelief, and the "as if" quality of the relationship. In framing himself as just a consultant , he invites you to find him special and deny that or to lose the "as if " quality . All I know is those kind of comments hurt my feelings, and put a check on my belief in the relationship for a while. It is kind of under the auspices of leveling with the client, that something a bit distancing is said. Certainly, I dont believe you T views himself as just your consultant easily replaceable with another, and maybe he is trying to show you that YOU too are not just a client easily replaceable with another either as a way of diffusing the power you express he holds?